At the time of the release of the second series of DC Universe Classics, most collectors would likely be shocked to look into the crystal ball to see the amount of time it would take before a “standard” Superman entered the line, but as it stands, the Superman Blue/Red combination makes for a very sensible first-announced variant combination.

It was pretty much expected that DCUC would give a lot of love to the 1980s based off of the affinity to the Super Powers line alone, but the hotly-debated ’90s would also get its day in the sun. Once again, the series 2 tease at SDCC 2007 brought to light a thinly veiled hint that we would see the first official variant of the line in early 2008. It was no secret that variants would be a part of the line, and even though the “chest tease” only showed off the Blue version, there was no fooling anyone that a straight-up repaint to achieve the Red look would not be offered.

Honestly, I don’t think it is even fair to call one of these guys “standard” and one the “variant” because, for all intents and purposes, they were an equal split of two equal versions. However, since the tease was for Blue, and the card back featured the Blue, I guess we will call that one the “standard.” Make no mistake, though, these guys are identical in all ways save for the color scheme and the fact that Red got a sneer to match the personality. Really, I find this to be one of those instances where the combination of the two variants makes the sum greater than the parts and the only real instance of when the variants are complimentary of each other, rather than purposely representing something the other one is not. I know we covered Aquaman previously, and while that slot did offer a variant, the variant opened the door to another character to contrast the standard. These figures go, almost literally, hand in hand.

Vital Statistics

Figure: Superman Blue

Company: Mattel

Design: Four Horsemen Studios

Order: DC Universe Classics Series 2, Figure 4

Release: 2008 (March)

Collect & Connect Piece: LEFT ARM of Gorilla Grodd

Accessories: Energy Effects

Scale: 1:12

MSRP: $9.99

Variant: Red

Articulation

• Ball-Joint Head
• Neck Peg
• Ball-Joint Shoulder (x2)
• Biceps Swivel (x2)
• Elbow Hinge (x2)
• Wrist Twist (x2)
• Abdominal Hinge
• Waist Twist
• Hip Hinge (x2)
• Hip Cut (x2)
• Thigh Swivel (x2)
• Knee Hinge (x2)
• Ankle Hinge (x2)

TOTAL: 22 Points of Articulation

Background Information

So the DC Superheroes line had Superman figures for days. And days. And days. However, the launch of what was hoping to be the most comprehensive DC action figure line ever could not roll for long without having Superman in it, no matter how many times collectors had their shot at him previously. For that reason, this version of Superman makes perfect sense for this release, even though there were probably several other versions that collectors wanted to see. But, this made for a very viable version(s) in terms of release while still preserving that “classic” Superman for later on down the line. Also, since the body is essentially “blank” in terms sculpt, it left tooling dollars on the table for things like Aquaman’s “mail” and a bigger Collect & Connect figure.

After Words

While this is not really a version of Superman I am personally invested in (and I am not a huge Superman guy), you cannot deny it when you get a good figure, and I find this Red and Blue duo to be very well executed. The paint and sculpt hit all of the right notes in representing the character well, and I really like the included “energy” effects for the hands and back. There is just something about those translucent pieces that make these figures stand out and come into their own in terms of action figures. Of which, I have never actually owned a Superman Blue/Red figure, so I think I got in on the right floor with these being my first.

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